Dave Grohl wanted to "surprise" people with Them Crooked Vultures.

The rocker - who recently formed the new supergroup with Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones - was deliberately secretive about the musical project because he knew expectation was high.

He said: "People had serious expectations but no clue what the band actually sounded like. So it only made sense to take everyone by surprise and go stealth."

Over the summer, the 40-year-old rocker spent several weeks making music with his new bandmates while he continued to sing for the Foo Fighters.

Dave admits he learned a lot from working with two bands at once.

He explained to Britain's The Scotsman newspaper: "It's a good example of all the lessons I've learned. I know what it's like to be a drummer and what it's like to be a lead singer, what it is to sit down and shut up and what it is to make 80,000 people stand up and sing."

Despite this recent hype, the rocker is determined to keep fans interested with new material.

He said: "I wouldn't want the nostalgia to ever keep me from coming up with something new. I definitely look ahead more than I count trophies."